Attachment style moderates partner presence effects on pain: a laser-evoked potentials study

TY - JOUR

T1 - Attachment style moderates partner presence effects on pain

T2 - a laser-evoked potentials study

AU - Krahé, Charlotte

AU - Paloyelis, Yannis

AU - Condon, Heather

AU - Jenkinson, Paul M.

AU - Williams, Steven C. R.

AU - Fotopoulou, Aikaterini

PY - 2015/8

Y1 - 2015/8

N2 - Social support is crucial for psychological and physical well-being. Yet, in experimental and clinical pain research, the presence of others has been found to both attenuate and intensify pain. To investigate the factors underlying these mixed effects, we administered noxious laser stimuli to 39 healthy women while their romantic partner was present or absent, and measured pain ratings and laser-evoked potentials (LEPs) to assess the effects of partner presence on subjective pain experience and underlying neural processes. Further, we examined whether individual differences in adult attachment style (AAS), alone or in interaction with the partner's level of attentional focus (manipulated to be either on or away from the participant) might modulate these effects. We found that the effects of partner presence vs absence on pain-related measures depended on AAS but not partner attentional focus. The higher participants' attachment avoidance, the higher pain ratings and N2 and P2 local peak amplitudes were in the presence compared with the absence of the romantic partner. As LEPs are thought to reflect activity relating to the salience of events, our data suggest that partner presence may influence the perceived salience of events threatening the body, particularly in individuals who tend to mistrust others.

AB - Social support is crucial for psychological and physical well-being. Yet, in experimental and clinical pain research, the presence of others has been found to both attenuate and intensify pain. To investigate the factors underlying these mixed effects, we administered noxious laser stimuli to 39 healthy women while their romantic partner was present or absent, and measured pain ratings and laser-evoked potentials (LEPs) to assess the effects of partner presence on subjective pain experience and underlying neural processes. Further, we examined whether individual differences in adult attachment style (AAS), alone or in interaction with the partner's level of attentional focus (manipulated to be either on or away from the participant) might modulate these effects. We found that the effects of partner presence vs absence on pain-related measures depended on AAS but not partner attentional focus. The higher participants' attachment avoidance, the higher pain ratings and N2 and P2 local peak amplitudes were in the presence compared with the absence of the romantic partner. As LEPs are thought to reflect activity relating to the salience of events, our data suggest that partner presence may influence the perceived salience of events threatening the body, particularly in individuals who tend to mistrust others.

KW - social presence

KW - social support

KW - pain

KW - attachment style

KW - laser-evoked potentials

KW - SOCIAL SUPPORT

KW - ADULT ATTACHMENT

KW - STIMULUS SALIENCY

KW - ANTERIOR INSULA

KW - BODY

KW - PERCEPTION

KW - STRATEGIES

KW - EXPERIENCE

KW - MODELS

KW - HEALTH

U2 - 10.1093/scan/nsu156

DO - 10.1093/scan/nsu156

M3 - Article

C2 - 25556212

SN - 1749-5016

VL - 10

SP - 1030

EP - 1037

JO - Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience

JF - Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience

IS - 8

ER -